Paving-block.



G. N. HOFFIVIASTER.,

PAVING BLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED IuLY I9. 191s.

LZSQQSI, Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

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GEORGE N. HOFFMASTER, F D-OSTER, MICHIGAN l ravine-BLOCK.

To aZZ'wtom '15` may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE N. HOFF- MASTER, a citizen of the United States, re-

,siding at Doster, in the county ofBarry and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsy in Paving- Blocks, of which the following is a specica.-

.provide a road bed constructed mainly ofv concrete, placed n situ, or laid in the form ofslabs, and of a width to accommodate a single vehicle, thereby' economizing in the use 01E/material.

Another object of the inventionis to provide a" road bed of the character set forth, havin a novel system of reinforcement, designe to resist the strains to which a road bed `constructed in this manner may be subvjared.

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A still further object of the invention is to provide in a road bed having the above named characteristics, of a center camber extending'y longitudinally throughout the road bed for securing' proper drainage and to form a joint between the lateral elements of the roadibed, toypermit expansion `and contraction of 'said elements, and for the 'purposes which will presently appear.

` In" addition tothe foregoing, my invention comprehends improvements in the details of construction and ari-an ement Aof parts, to be hereinafterl describe and particularly set forth in the appended claims.

' similarA and'` correspon ln the accompanying drawings, in which ing parts aredesignated by the same characters of reference, lthroughout the several views in which they appear:

Figure 1,.is al fragmentary view in plan i of a portion of a road bed constructed in accor-dance with my invention.

Fig. 2, is a transverse section taken on the kline of Fig. 1. f I* s Specification of Letters Patent. Ptented Apr, 9, 1918,

Application filed Jl'uly 19, 1916. Serial N o. 110,140.- i

i Fig. 3, is a view in perspective of a slab foriming a part of my improved road bed, an f l Fig. 4, is a horizontal section taken on the line 4-4`of Fig. 3.- y f' With reference tothe drawings, wherein I have illustrated several views of a com- I pleted road bed embodying my improvements and constructed in accordance vwith my methods, v1 indicates two rows of connected slabs, placed end to end and spaced laterally'from each other. In the improvement of a road bed by means of my methods, the old road bed indicated at 2 in F ig; 2, is provided with a layer of sand 3,'after the usual manner, andthe slabs 1- are placed thereon as mentioned above.

Each slab is formed with, or provided with longitudinal reinforcing bars 4, disposed adjacent the edges with the ends 5 of said rods projecting beyond one end of the slab, while the other ends 6 'of said -rods are entirely -inclosed within the slab and provided with bent terminals extending toward each other to permit the provision of recesses 7 formed lin said end of the slab, in 'alinement with the rods and of a corresponding size, to receive the projecting ends of the reinforcing rods of an adjacent slab.

Each slab is further provided with transversely extending reinforcing rods 8l formed at one of their ends witheyes 9. The slabsare formed on their upper and -lower surfaces adjacent ,their edges with semicircular enlargements 10 defnin ,when the slabs are inplace, parallel space ridges on the surface ofthe road bed. I

The slabs forming the spaced rows are disposed with their sides having the eyes in opposition, withthe rods 8 ofopposed slabs in alinement, and the eyes connected by 'reinforcing rods 11 having angular terminals 12 which are received in said eyes. The space between the parallel rows-of slabs is next filled in withl gravel or crushed' rock as indicated at 13, and the upper surface 14 curved transverselyso )as to form a camber extendin throughout t e length of the road bed, to permit proper drainage. The rods 1I are 'thereby securely held in place and the'transversecspaced relation of the rows of slabs maintained. Between the joints of mating slabs, a filling in of asphalt or the like indicated at 15 may be provided, spacingthe lslabs slightly at the same time, and procentrally and longitudinally' ico viding a waterproof ijoint, and permitting longitudinal expansion and contraction of the rows of slabs. The remote edges of the C slabs may be filled in with gravel or crushed rock as at 16, to round offthe edges of the road bed and provide a neat and uniform effect. Thejoints between mating slabs of' each row maybe disposed in relative staggered relation, so as` to insure rigidty of the 'road bed structure as a whole.

The road bed when finished will present the appearance of a longitudinal center camber, flanked at each sideby parallell ridges, and parallel ridges spaced from the first vmentioned -ridges and located at the remote edges of the road bed, with a smooth surface indicatedat 1-1 in Fig. 1, upon which the wheels of vehicles are designed to travel. The slabs maybe standarized so as to accommodate when laid vehicles of'different transverse'dimensions, but ina road vbed having the proportions illustrated, theltransverse distance betweenKcenter to center of the smooth surfaces is 56" in., which will be found'suflicient for all practical purposes.` 'Iheroad bed is intended to accommodate only a single le of vehicles, but if a road bed for vehicles traveling in both directions is desired, two systems of which the system herein described is a unit may be employed. Owing to the narrownessof this road bed, a road suiicient for many purposes maybe quickly and economically f laid, owing to the fact that the slabs may be manufactured elsewhere andv in v quantities, and brought to the Iplace. of their use where they may be quickly laid. Theroad presents aneat appearance, and the ridges at each side of the center tend to guide the from leaving the road/ be `While have illustrated land described my invention with seme degree of. particularity,

wheels of a vehicle vand prevent the same Iv realize that in practicevarious alterations thereoverl may be made, and I therefore desire to reserve the right and privilege Lacan-1s struction', or otherwise altering the arrangement of the correlated elements in the application of my process, without departing from the spirit of the invention, or the scope of theappended claims. 4

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

`1. A road bed comprising spaced parallel` longitudinal wheel receiving surfaces .formlolf changing the formv of the details'of c'ony.

ed of slabs placed end to end, longitudinal J reinforcing rods -in the slabs extending partly into one another to maintain the slabs in aline'ment, means for connecting opposed slabs of therows to maintain theA gage, 'and a filling material between the rows.

2. A road bed comprising spacedparalle'l longitudinal wheel 'receiving' surfaces formed-.of slabs placedend to end and slightly spaced from each other longitudinally,

longitudinal reinforcing rods inthe slabs y extending partly into lone another to Amaintain the slabsI in alinementl and permitting y slight relative longitudinal movement thereof, ineans for connecting opposed slabs vof the rows to maintain the gage,"and a filling .material between the rows.

)GEORGE N; HoFFMAs'rER. f

Witnesses:

-FLo'YIiooMIs, MAImARE'i'IA E. E. DosfrER.I 

